Center drawer slide construction



Jan, 16, 1968 R. H. REISS ET AL 3,363,960

CENTER DRAWER SLIDE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 51, 1966 INVENTORS.

Rnvmom: H. Rslss m JAMES Paws Tnmvzz ATTORNZ 20 4Q fjg 4 United StatesPatent 3,363,960 CENTER DRAWER SLIDE CONSTRUCTION Raymond H. Reiss,Deal, N.J., and James P. Tanner, Gastonia, N.C.; said Reiss assignor toRonthor Reiss Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of DelawareFiled Aug. 31, 1966, Ser. No. 576,311 Qlaims. (Cl. 312-344) ABSTRACT (BETHE DISIILOSURE A drawer attached to one member of a pair of telescopicguide members by: transversely penetrating the inside face of the frontdrawer wall with the outer end of said member, and then anchoring thepenetrating end by means of a nail or staple extending transverselythrough said end and into said wall. The drawer is laterally centered asit approaches closed position by relatively short spacer ribs integralwith said anchored guide member and slidably engageable with astationary center drawer guide bar.

This invention relates to an article of furniture and more especially toan improved center guide construction for controlling the path ofmovement of a drawer when opening and closing it. More specifically, theinvention relates to a slide hearing which rigidly centers the frontportion of the drawer, when closed, relative to its associatedcompartment while permitting limited movement of the rear portion of thedrawer.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved drawerconstruction in which one member of a pair of telescopic guide membersis attached in a novel manner at the front bottom portion of the drawerso as to impart an additional rigidity for resisting the transversestresses produced by drawer operation.

It is a further object of invention to provide a drawer construction asdescribed above and further including relatively short elongated drawercentering ribs integral with the attached guide member and laterallyengageable with a stationary center drawer guide rail as the drawerapproaches closed position.

Some of the objects of invention having been stated, other objects willappear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of an article of fumiture embodying thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional plan view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional detail view taken along lines 3-3 in FIGURES 1and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but taken along lines 4-4 inFIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional detail view taken along line 5-5 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional detail view taken along line 6-6 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is an isometric view of the drawer compartment shown in FIGURE1, but with the drawer removed, and

FIGURE 8 is an isometric fragmentary view of the sliding guide as itappears when detached from the drawer bottom and from the guide rail.

The drawer guide construction according to the prgsent invention isemployed in association with a furniture framework 10 having a drawercompartment 11 therein for slidably receiving a drawer 12. Drawer 12 isprovided with horizontal bottom portion 14, side Walls 15 and 16, andfront and back walls 17 and 18 (see FIGURES 1, 5, 6 and 7).

Cit

3,363,960 Patented Jan. 16, 1968 A guide rail 19 for the drawer isdisposed longitudinally of compartment 11 and in the lower centralportion thereof, said rail having its ends secured as at 20 and 21 tothe lower front and back portions, respectively, of the compartmentframework. The rail 19 has a substantially I-shaped cross-sectioncomprising a central vertical web portion 22, a pair of oppositelyextending upper flanges 23, and a second pair of oppositely extendinglower flanges 24 (FIGURES 5 and 6). The upper surface of rail 19 has alongitudinal groove 25 therein thereby dividing said upper Surface intoa pair of relatively narrow parallel ribs 25a.

An elongated guide member 26 forms a sliding connection between drawer12 and rail 19. This guide is rectangular in cross-section and comprisesan upper elongated horizontal portion 27, a pair of elongated sideportions 28 extending vertically downwardly from the opposite edges ofportion 27, and a second pair of elongated horizontal portions 29extending inwardly from the respective lower edges of portions 28(FIGURE 8).

The rear end portion of guide 26 is secured to the back wall 18 of thedrawer as at 32 (FIGURES 5 and 8). Due to the relatively higher stressesproduced when opening and closing the drawer, it has been foundnecessary to provide an especially strong connection between the frontend of guide 2.6 and the front portion of the drawer as described indetail below.

This drawer-guide connection includes: a fiat lip or projection 33integral with the horizontal portion 27 of the guide, a pair of pointedprojections 34 integral with the vertical sides 28 of the guide, and apin or staple 35. It will be observed in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 that lip 33and pointed projections 34 are parallel extensions of the guide whichpenetrate the inside face of front drawer wall 17 to hold the upperhorizontal surface 27 of the guide against the lower surface of thedrawer bottom and to resist vertical stresses between the guide anddrawer wall. Horizontal stresses such as produced by a pull upon drawerknob 12a, however, require means such as staple 35 which extendstransversely of the guide and penetrates perforations 33a in lip 33 aswell as drawer bottom 14 and front wall 17 thereby further anchoring theprojections 33 and 34 in their penetrating positions in wall 17.

Referring again to FIGURES 5 and 6, it will be noted that the inneropposed longitudinal edges of guided portions 29 terminate in spacedrelation to one another and also in spaced relation to the oppositesides of the rail web portion 22 therebetween when the guide is slidablymounted on the rail. Likewise, the inner opposed faces of guide 26 arespaced apart a greater distance than the overall width of the upperflanges 23. The above-mentioned spacing or clearances permits the rearportion of guide 26 to have limited lateral or horizontal movementrelative to rail 19 during the closing and in a fully closed position ofthe drawer 12. The significance of this clearance will become apparentin connection with the de-- seription below of the drawer centeringconstruction.

The drawer centering structure includes: a pair of bosses 37 extendinginwardly from the front ends of portions 28 of guide 26, the distancebetween the inner opposed faces of the bosses being substantially thesame as the overall width of upper rail flanges 23 (FIGURE 6). Bosses 37are rigid and disposed a fixed distance apart. As the drawer 12approaches a closed position, the bosses 37 slidably engage rail flanges23 to rigidly center the front end of the drawer. At the same time, thepreviously described clearances between the inner back portions of guide26 and the rail 19 permits limited lateral movement of the intermediateand back drawer portions to prevent binding or excessive frictionalcontact. Briefly stated, the closing drawer is permitted to rockhorizontally about the centering bosses substantially as a hub.

Another important feature which supplements the selfcentering structuredescribed above is the antifriction characteristics residing in thecontacting surfaces between rail 19 and guide 26. One of the members 19or 26 is made of a soft material such as wood or plastic and the otherof a relatively hard material such as metal. In addition, the members 19and 26 have sliding contact therebetween along relatively narrowparallel paths. Specifically, the relatively narrow elongated bottomportions 29 of the guide slide upon the upper surfaces of bottom flanges24; the longitudinal centering bosses 37 slide against the outervertical faces of upper flanges 23; and the horizontal top portion 27 ofthe guide slides upon ribs 25a of the rail 19 (FIGURES and 6). It willbe further noted that the vertical distance between the inner opposedsurfaces of the top and bottom flanges 23 and 24 is somewhat greaterthan the thickness of elongated guide portions 29 to thereby limit thevertical drawer tilt but allow operating clearance.

In the drawings and specification, a preferred form of invention hasbeen disclosed, and although specific terms are employed they are usedin a generic sense and not for purpose of limitation, the scope of theinvention being set forth in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In combination with an article of furniture having a drawer and adrawer compartment adapted to receive said drawer, said drawer having ahorizontally disposed bottom and rear, front and side walls joined tosaid bottom, a stationary guide rail for slidably receiving said guidemember, a horizontally disposed projection integral with one end of saidslide member and penetrating the inside face of said front drawer wall,and means extending transversely through said projection for securingthe latter in its penetrating position.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein the guide member is aninverted U-shaped section extending from the front to the rear walls ofthe drawer and wherein said rail has a uniform cross-section throughoutits length which has a shape similar to but smaller than the interior ofsaid U-shaped member, and rigid means projecting inwardly from the frontend portion of said guide and engageable with the opposite sides of saidrail as the drawer approaches closed position to thereby preventrelative lateral movement between the front end of the guide and rail.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said projectioncomprises a fiat metallic lip extending longitudinally of said slidemember, said lip having at least one perforation therein substantiallyat its intersection with the inside surface of said front drawer wall,and wherein said securing means comprises an elongated pin extendingthrough said perforation into said front drawer Wall at an acute angleto the inside vertical surface of the latter.

4. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said slide membercomprises an intermediate horizontally disposed longitudinal flatsection, said section having second and third longitudinal flat sectionsextending vertically downwardly from the opposite longitudinal edgesthereof, respectively, and further comprising second and thirdhorizontally disposed projections respectively integral with the ends ofsaid second and fiat sections and penetrating the inside face of saidfront drawer wall.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4 wherein the respective innersurfaces of said intermediate, second and third flat sections slidablyengage the guide rail along relatively narrow parallel paths.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,257,822 10/1941 Stickley 3l2346X 2,559,322 7/1951 Skamser 312-346 2,841,460 7/1958 Rainier 3123473,119,644 1/1964 Workman 312346 3,215,475 1 1/1965 Manson SOS-3.6

JAMES T. McCALL, Primary Examiner.

